The present invention relates to a sealing arrangement for a running belt, in which at least one surface, in particular its lower surface, is in contact with liquid or a condensed gaseous agent in order to accomplish the transfer of heat to or from goods resting on the other belt surface. The sealing arrangement comprises sealing strips applied against the belt in the area of its lateral edges.
Sealing arrangements of this kind have been known before in connection with belt-type coolers with an endless belt system of the type marketed by Sandvik Process Systems GmbH, Fellbach, Germany. In the case of cooling systems of this design, sealing strips are arranged along the lateral edge areas of the bottom face of a steel belt and have their narrow upper faces in contact with that bottom face of the belt. The strips are intended to prevent the cooling water, which is being sprayed from spray nozzles upon the lower face of the belt, from being splashed laterally beyond the bottom face of the belt. It is also known with these arrangements to assign to the sealing strips, brush-like sealing elements which are arranged on the outside of the sealing strip in order to prevent water adhered to the bottom surface of the belt from migrating to the lateral edges of the belt and maybe even from there to the upper belt surface.
Finally, it has also been known to provide the belt proper, in the area of its lateral edges and in the area outside of the sealing strips, with downwardly projecting elastic beads which follow the movement of the belt and which serve as dripping edges for adhered water. The production and assembly efforts required for these types of sealing arrangements is relatively substantial.
It is an object of the present invention to design a sealing arrangement of the before-described type in such a way that there is no need for a plurality of different sealing or dripping elements.